KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety officials are reporting that the number serious crimes committed by Juveniles in the Kalamazoo area is on the rise.
Police say they’ve seen this increase since the pandemic began in 2020, with numbers continuing to break records in 2021. The crimes ranged from shootings, car thefts and weapon offenses.
KDPS said the number of kids arrested on these charges peaked with a record setting year for crime in the city. Officials citing that weapons offenses more than doubled among this age group from 2019 to 2021, with 48 arrests last year.
Police said that 12 juveniles were charged for aggravated assault with a firearm in 2019, with this number tripling to 34 in 2021.
But the one crime that police say has really gone up among youth, motor vehicle thefts, which increased a whopping 68% since 2019, with 73 motor vehicle thefts reported that year, compared to 123, in 2021.
